The White Chakra Seal of Youth
by Terra Alchemist
Summary: After an immense chakra drain resulting from his use of the Mangekyou Sharingan, Kakashi's only hope of survival is to be turned into a child. Meanwhile, his older brother Jakashi attempts to resurrect their dead father, Sakumo.
1. Chibi Kakashi

**The White Chakra Seal of Youth**

_Kakashi- Midgetized_

"He's drained too much chakra, I don't think he'll make it!" Sakura and Gai bent over the fallen Kakashi and checked his vitals, alarmed at their unhealthy slowness. Gai muttered a curse under his breath. If his vitals got much lower... there wouldn't be enough energy to keep his internal organs alive and there would be a funeral service rather than a welcoming service back in Hidden Leaf. Gai heaved Kakashi up onto his shoulders and looked at his own cell members, Lee, Tenten, and Neji, and then at Kakashi's: Naruto and Sakura.

"I'll take him back to Hidden Leaf, you guys can follow. If you think you can."

"Try to take him to the Fifth, maybe she can heal him!" Sakura called as Gai bounded away. Gai seriously doubted that anyone could heal Kakashi, not in the state that he was in. The stupid idiot had to have known that the Mangekyou Sharingan would take too much energy, even for him! Stupid stupid stupid! Kakashi wasn't showing any indication that he was still alive other than the worryingly shallow rising and falling of his chest, almost imperceptible, and the short twitches every now and then. Gai cleared his head, he had to focus all of his energy on getting back to Hidden Leaf as fast as possible.

* * *

Kakashi was dumped rather uncerimoniously onto a hospital bed and tended on by the many medical ninjas that bustled around the Fifth, but none of them were having any success in reversing the chakra drain; on the contrary, the drain seemed to be continuing even though there was nothing to use the chakra _for. _They were puzzled and perplexed, most of all frustrated, because if they couldn't solve this medical monstrousity, then they would lose possibly the strongest shinobi in Konoha, aside from the Legendary Sannin. Even Tsunade, the Fifth, a medical specialist, was not getting many results for Kakashi's energy drain. She could only conclude that the chakra was being used to stabilize his body. Today was a dark day indeed.

* * *

It was around that time that a rather peculiar man rode into town on the back of a lion, casting glances at the various stores and homes, wondering where in the Land of Fire they had all gone. Usually it would be full of women, children, and shinobi, particularly the ramen house in the middle of the street. Today there were only a few people milling about, mostly children, little children who should be in the Academy. He sighed and brushed back his white hair, revealing a very foreign looking headband that had the symbols of all the villages of the world somewhere on it, most prominantly the symbol of Hidden Leaf. There was some increased activity near the residence of the Hokage. He whistled to the lion and it changed its course to incorporate its new destination. 

It wasn't a long ride, maybe ten minutes, and he was soon inside. The lion plodded after him, opening its jaws to yawn widely, and lifted a paw to brush weariness out of its eyes. There were many medical nin clustered around a door, and he questioned them. They looked at his headband wonderingly for a little while before he snapped, "What's going on here?", and they started and resumed their focus.

"Kakashi Hatake came back from a mission severely drained of chakra, the Fifth doesn't think he'll make it..." The nin, however, was talking to thin air.

The Fifth turned around quickly. "What are you doing here? Who let this man in?" The nin converged on him but he didn't move, and the lion opened its jaws and roared, making all activity cease. Kakashi twitched. He looked around the room quietly, then said, "What happened here?" Everyone shrugged in unison and he looked angry, striding purposefully to Kakashi's bedside.

"He's lying here with a unfathomable chakra drain then? What did he use to initiate this drain? Who brought him back here?" he cried, his voice rising. Gai raised his eyebrows. "I brought him. He used the Mangekyou Sharingan."

"Mange...kyou... IDIOT!" He smacked Kakashi's helpless face on the bed. "Stupid IDIOT! And I just bet he used that Chidori along the line too! IDIOT! AGH, what am I supposed to DO with you?" Another two violent smacks across the head and the room was deathly silent. "There's nothing you can do? Fifth?"

"No."

"Crap. I guess there's no choice then. There's one thing I can do to save him, but you're not going to like it."

"What?"

"I have to do it first."

"Fine, carry on."

The man stood up again and performed a series of increasingly complex handsigns, bit both of his thumbs to draw blood, and drew a curving seal on Kakashi's forehead. When that was finished he closed his eyes, breathed in deeply, and removed a white sabre from his belt. White chakra formed around the blade and he pressed it gently onto Kakashi's chest.

"_Hatake Bloodline Trait: White Seal of Youth!" _There was a flash of light and the Fifth and medical nin flinched, covering their eyes from the light until it faded a few minutes later revealing the man holding a very small, very young, very frightened Kakashi.

"Hey little guy, it's okay, you're okay now!" Kakashi just looked up at him numbly. Tsunade was absolutely livid.

"What the hell did you do? If he's just a little kid, how is going to fight for the village?"

"Aw, don't count him out now... he just needs a little time to get used to it, don't you Kakashi?" Instead of answering, Kakashi was more interested in pulling off the man's headband and playing with it. The Fifth put her fists on her hips. "You could introduce yourself."

"Who, me?" He picked up Kakashi again. "Jakashi Hatake, first son of Sakumo Hatake, Jonin of the Allied Countries. You see..." he plucked at his headband while still holding Kakashi with one arm. "I passed the Genin and Chunin exams in every village in every country."

Kakashi squirmed and flailed his arms around, then twisted to look up at Jakashi. "Daddy!"

"Eh? Um..." Jakashi's mind flitted through possible consequences and scenarios. "Hey... I'm not-"

"Daddy!"

"W-wait a minute Kakashi, I-"

"Daddy didn't commit seppuku! I knew it was just a dream!" he clung to Jakashi and he floundered, looking at the Fifth, then at Gai.

"What am I... um... yeah... of course I didn't commit seppuku... what a silly dream," he said it halfheartedly, letting Kakashi cling to him. Tsunade tapped her foot. "What are we going to do now that our Copy Ninja is a six year old and can no longer copy," she muttered, waving rather pointedly at his lack of a Sharingan Eye.

"Well..." Jakashi said, "We can continue to let him think that I'm Sakumo, and he can grow up. How's that? Remember... Kakashi was one kick-ass six year old!"


	2. Pretending

"Look, the only thing I can do is to _pretend _that I'm Sakumo, for Kakashi's sake."

"Why not just tell him the truth."

"He's been through hell once, he doesn't need to suffer it again. If I tell him how Sakumo commited seppuku, it'll tear the poor kid apart. He... he doesn't deserve it, he doesn't deserve it at all!"

"Do you really think it's best?"

"For now, it is. I'm not Sakumo, I can't truly be like Sakumo, but I can try, I can try. For Kakashi, I will."

"So then you will be known henceforth in the village as Sakumo Hatake?"

"Correct. From now on, I'm... I will be for better or worse, Sakumo Hatake."

* * *

Half a year went by. 

The entire village had received word of the strange events that had befallen Kakashi Hatake, and it was an extreme case of deja vu to see a man and boy walking through the village with the names Sakumo and Kakashi Hatake, when Sakumo had been deceased for more than a decade or two and Kakashi was last seen as a man of twenty-nine. It had seemed like the clock had turned backwards on Hidden Leaf, and with that turning had restored the Hatake family.

The village, nonetheless, began bustling again as usual, though it was mostly devoid of its shinobi. Sakumo had been granted 'special' privelages to stay back for at least another month with Kakashi, and Kakashi was not allowed to perform missions any higher than C-rank or any C-rank that had a difficulty close to a B-rank. Kakashi was still the same genius he had been, but he no longer recognized Sakura or Naruto as anything else but 'really big and weak'. They no longer had any value to him, they were just people, strangers he didn't know, and as when dealing with most strangers, he ran to Sakumo first.

Naruto frowned and poked little Kakashi in the head one day, looking at Sakura. "Is this really Kakashi-sensei? He's totally different!" Kakashi growled and flailed his hands, trying to get 'Stupid-Face' off of him without resorting to ninjutsu. Naruto was oblivious however, and continued to poke. "I mean, he's tiny, he doesn't seem to recognize us at all, he keeps calling me Stupid-Face, and he's really really wea- YEOW!" Kakashi Chidori-ed his chest and ran away, calling out names asNaruto and Sakura pursued him like 'Stupid-Face', 'Fox-Boy', 'Big-Brow', 'Billboard-Forehead', 'Ramen-Monster', and his favorite, 'The Couple'. Sakura responded violently to this last insult and broke the ground in front of her, an attack that was easily evaded by the chibi Kakashi as he scrambled up into a tree and jumped into the uppermost branches to locate Sakumo. He found him and jumped down, landing on his shoulders and quickly sliding down behind his legs, poking a defiant tongue at both of them.

Naruto huffed and puffed and Kakashi threw a rock at him from behind Sakumo's leg. "How could... how could Kakashi-sensei have been such a _brat?_" Sakumo gave him a warning look. "Kakashi... have you been taunting the Genin again? You should be more mature, you _are _a Chunin after all."

"He taunted me first," he muttered, crossing his arms obstinately, "They called me weak! And besides... Iruka-Sensei had me take the Genin exams again, and now I have to take the Chunin exam again. That's not fair! I haven't even been training with you very long!"

"I know, I know, but don't worry, Kakashi... everything will turn out how it should have been," Sakumo's eyes seemed to be set on a distant thought and he zoned out for a second before turning to Kakashi again. "What is it?"

"I had the seppuku dream again. And that dream with that weird eye and that strange Gai man again! And there was Stupid-Face and Billboard-Forehead too, and another big collared guy that looked like a punk. I don't like the seppuku dream, Dad," he said, tugging on Sakumo's pant leg.

"I know. It'll be fine, you'll have him back soon... eh, I mean everything will be fine! Really! Now Kakashi... how old are you now?"

"Dad! I'm five and a half!" He held up five fingers, the sixth finger crooked slightly to resemble a half.

"Five and a half... well, you'll really get that Chunin exam down when you're six, won't you? That's the next exam date."

"Yeah! Will you be there to watch, Dad? Will you?"

"Yes... yes... Sakumo will be there to watch."

"Dad, why do you do that?" Kakashi looked puzzled, cocking his head at Sakumo.

"Do what?" Kakashi shrugged.

"You know, refer to yourself like you're somebody else. Third-person like."

"Habit. Your old dad'll definitely be there to watch you take those exams. Definitely..." he looked far away again and Kakashi tugged especially hard on his leg. "You're not going to commit seppuku, are you? Are you?"

"No no... of course not. Dad'll be there to watch you. Don't worry."

* * *

Kakashi's brother found that imitating their father, Sakumo, was not only immensely difficult, but rigorous as well. He could not become careless for more than a few seconds, not even when he woke up groggy from sleep as Kakashi ran into the room to check on him after having a 'seppuku' dream. 

There were scrolls full of writing littered around the room and his eyes were red from lack of sleep. He just had to accomplish his goal, had to! He only had another three months, and then Kakashi's Chunin exams would begin. For those exams, Sakumo had to be there, he would have it no other way.

* * *

_"Dad? Aren't you going to go watch Kakashi's Chunin exams?" He asked Sakumo's back. Sakumo had a bag on his bed and was filling it with items, as well as putting scrolls and kunais into his vest. He sighed and turned his head to look over his shoulder at his older son. _

_"I have to go, I told you that already. If Kakashi passes I'll be very proud of him, just like I always have been of you two."_

_"But Dad! Kakashi will be sad if you don't come! He wanted you to be there to watch him pass; he'll be the youngest Chunin ever!"_

_"I know."_

_"But then-"_

_"I'm sorry Jakashi, I don't have much say in this mission. It's an S-level and I don't know when I'll be back. I tried to postpone it but the Fourth wouldn't let me. So..." he ruffled Jakashi's short white hair. "You'll just have to go in my place. Take care of your brother."_

_"So you're just going to leave? Right now?"_

_"Yes. I have to go." Sakumo walked out of the room and Jakashi followed him, watching as their father walked into Kakashi's room, bent down, and kissed his forehead. He pulled the covers up to Kakashi's chin and stood there for a while before reaching into his waist pouch and withdrawing a white blade. He placed it on Kakashi's bedside, patted Jakashi's head one more time, and left the house._

_The next morning Kakashi woke up and bounded to the kitchen after snatching up his father's White Chakra Blade from his bedside table, expecting to see him waiting and ready to go watch him take the Chunin exams, but the only one there was a touchy looking Jakashi with their father's other White Chakra Blade in his belt pouch. His dark eyes slid over to Kakashi for a second._

_"Where's Daddy?"_

_"Dad left on a mission, said he couldn't come to your Chunin exams."_

_"B-but, he promised me he would! He promised he would!"_

_"Yeah... well, something else popped up, an S-level mission. He had to go."_

_"But I wanted... I wanted Daddy to see so he could see that I can be as strong as him! Like you, Big Brother!"_

_"Yeah..." Jakashi put his arms on the table and rested his chin on his arms. "But I'll come and watch you, Kakashi."_

_"But it's just not the same! It's not fair! Daddy went to your Chunin exam, and Mommy got to see... Mommy got to see you too! It's not fair! And it's not fair that nobody'll play with me just because I'm taking the exams and most of them are still in the Academy, and it's not fair that adults always look at me funny, and it's not fair when you get all the attention from Daddy for being older and stronger and he never watches me! And... and... it's not my fault Mommy's not here anymore, I didn't want her to die, I didn't, I didn't! Mommy never got to see me."_

_"Kakashi... look." He got up from his chair and hugged his brother. "You just ignore those other kids, they're just mad because they're not as great as you are, and the adults know you're strong too. And for your information, Dad treats us equally, whether you noticed or not. He wanted to come, but the mission comes first. He said that if you pass he'll be very proud of you, like he's always been."_

_Kakashi sniffed. "Really? Did he say that?"_

_"Yep. And.. it's... not your fault Mom's gone. There's nothing you could have done."_

_"Really? It wasn't my fault?"_

_"No, no of course not. And Mom loved you too, she didn't let Dad or anyone take you from her until she... she died."_

_"Will you watch me, Big Brother?"_

_"'Course I will. I'll watch you in Dad's place, and I'll tell him how great you were and everything as soon as he gets back!"_

_"Promise?"_

_"I promise!"_

* * *

Naruto waved his hands in front of Sakumo's eyes. "Heeeeyyyy, watcha thinkin about?"

He flinched slightly and shook his head. "Oh, nothing Naruto, nothing. I was just... Kakashi."

Kakashi looked up from his zoning out. "Yeah?"

"Why don't you go home and practice your summoning some more. I have to go see the Godaime, and then I'll come back home. Straight back home," he added before Kakashi could ask him to promise. "I promise."

" 'Kay... but I'm already really good at it..."

"Then practice your Chidori, or using your white chakra. Just train until I get back and then we'll talk about your Chunin exams, alright?"

"Okay... but... can I go by the Academy first? I forgot something in there."

"Sure sure."

"C'mon Uncle Dumb Face!" he cried, grabbing Naruto's hand and bounding away.

* * *

"You're looking extremely haggard nowadays Sakumo."

"Please, drop the name while we're not in public. I'm not my father."

"You seem to resent it?"

"Perhaps. It's none of your business if I do, now why did you call me?"

"Well you see we've heard of strange activity near the Hatake household, strange bursts of white chakra, countless destroyed scrolls, notations and crumpled paper. I want to know what's going on in that house." Tsunade's eyes bored into his but Jakashi stood his ground.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Half the village has seen it and they're starting to get nervous. If we even think that you're _work _is going to threaten Konoha, you realize that the village will want to take you down, you, your home, and perhaps Kakashi with it, boy or not." Jakashi gritted his teeth and slammed his palm onto the table.

"You want to know what I'm doing? You really want to know what I'm doing, Tsunade-hime?

"I'll tell you what I'm doing: I'm going to revive the dead!"


	3. Mission!

3: Mission!

"So what are we doing here again, Sensei?" Naruto asked, once more forgetting entirely that Kakashi was no longer the Kakashi that he was. At least, he wouldn't be for a long time. "Aww, I told you already, stop calling me Sensei! And we're here to spy on Iruka-Sensei. I think he lives in the Academy, I swear he does!"

"That still doesn't answer my question you crazy little-"

"BAKA!" Kakashi yelled, smacking Naruto over the head with the hilt of his White Chakra Blade. "Quiet! You're gonna wake him up! Sheesh. Your Sensei must've been one incredible guy to put up with you... Baka Naruto," Kakashi huffed, unaware that he was referring to himself as the 'one incredible guy'. "Anyways, we're here to get my stuff back aaaaand... I need to steal back a ribbon."

"A _ribbon?"_

"Yeah, a ribbon. It's not my ribbon, baka. I don't wear ribbons. Just listen!" Kakashi sat down crosslegged on the dirt and scratched an accurate floorplan of the Academy in the dust. "We'll enter through the window, got it? I'll go in and..."

* * *

In about ten minutes Iruka was jolted from his scant free time by a hideous crash and a pitiful wail that certainly didn't sound like an adult ninja. It did, however, fit the form of the little five and a half year old he found sitting amidst a pile of broken glass in the inside of the classroom. He was uncertain of how to approach this. "Erm... Kakashi, what are you... I mean, um- oh to heck with it," he grumbled, tired of the uncertainness of the situation. He picked Kakashi off the floor and sat him on a chair, then went to sweep up the glass from the floor. He looked at Kakashi while he was doing the latter. 

"Now what were you doing crashing through my window like that, Kakashi?" he asked while trying to sweep up a particularly persistant piece of glass that was stuck in his floor, his beautiful hardwood floor!

"I-I was playing with Pakkun and I wasn't looking where I was going and Pakkun tossed the stick back to me and I jumped to get it and I went through the window and the glass went 'CRASH' and then I was on the floor and now I have a cut on my arm and it huuuuurts..." he whined, holding out the fresh cut for Iruka to examine.

"Well well, that doesn't look too bad. A quick bandage should fix it up. Now next time you play with Pakkun you'll watch where you're going, won't you?"

"Yes Sensei."

"Good. And also, it's grammatically incorrect to keep running on your sentences. It's... probably unhealthy too, seeing as your face is so blue from lack of air," Iruka mentioned as he cleaned out the cut, checked it one more time for glass shards, and wrapped it in a thick bandage.

"Hey, Iruka-Sensei?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you have to do to be a Jonin?"

"You have to take another test, I'm pretty sure. You should ask your dad about that one."

"Okay!"

"And you have to work really hard, you hear?"

"Yeah! You watch, I'll be the best Jonin ever!"

Iruka laughed as Kakashi pranced away, his cut swathed in bandages. "The funny thing is is that he's absolutely right... heh..."

Naruto, meanwhile, was sneaking out the backdoor with a bundle on his back. Kakashi dove into the bushes and they hunkered down together. "Did you get the stuff, Naruto?"

"I sure did, look at all this stuff Iruka-Sensei had!" Naruto gave him the bag to examine and Kakashi picked out a few pencils, a pen, a doggie money pouch, a mask, and a small kunai. "Well, that's all my stuff..." he fished around in it some more and withdrew a white ribbon. "Ribbon! Hah! Now..." he hefted the bag over his shoulder, pulled up his mask, and stuffed the assorted items into his pocket. "Now to give back this stuff! Follow!"

Kakashi launched himself up into the tree and bounded away.

* * *

Sakumo gritted his teeth and crumpled another scroll, tossing into a wastebasket rather violently in frustration and craned his neck to locate another one. The home stretch wasn't going as well as he thought it would, he had the rest of his new jutsu written out perfectly, it was flawless, but... the ending of it just didn't seem right. With this kind of jutsu he couldn't afford to make a single mistake. He didn't know, however, what was wrong. Something seemed disproportionate, out of place, but he didn't know what piece, what section, what part... He put his face in his hands and rubbed his eyes tiredly, feeling the tender bags under his eyes. This wasn't the way to do it, he had to rest, relax, or he'd end up doing the whole thing wrong. He checked his hand signs to make sure they were correct once last time and got up, the chair scraping against the floor and grating in his ears rather unpleasantly. 

He yawned and looked out the window again. It was almost two hours past noon... Kakashi should have been back by now. But maybe it was all the well that he hadn't come back so quickly. He walked around to the kitchen and stared at the contents of his cupboard for a while before making the painfully slow deduction that they should probably go out shopping some time soon. Kakashi would probably want a new money pouch since his old one was confiscated for blowing pudding in Iruka's face when he gave it to Iruka to examine. What a hassle that had been to explain.

Just a few more months... that's all he had to work with. Just a few more... he didn't have any idea of how he would manage it. He flopped down on the floor and decided to polish his kunais, or Kakashi's kunais, rather. He preoccupied himself with that activity for about twenty minutes, the exact time that Kakashi fell down the chimney with a cloth sack.

"Eh? Holidays already?"

Kakashi straightened his headband and brushed the soot off of his pants. "No, I just wanted to see what it was like going down a chimney. It's kinda stuffy in there, not that fun at all."

"Did you manage that Summoning Jutsu I taught you?"

"Yep! I summoned a puppy called Pakkun!"

"Good, good... you're doing very well, Kakashi."

Kakashi glowed at the comment. "Daddy, I'm gonna be a Jonin!"

"Hmm... such high aspirations so soon?"

"Yeah!"

"Well I don't see why not. However... you must become a Chunin first, and for that you have to get stronger."

"Stronger? But I'm already really-"

"Yes, but there will be Genin at the exams who are more than twice your age. I'm not saying that they are stronger than you, they may or may not be, but they have had more training and experience than you have. " He got up from the table. "Which is why you and I are going on a skill-building mission."

Kakashi's face lit up. "Really? Just you and me?"

"Well, I may be tempted to bring another Genin you know along with us, but other than that... yes, alone."

"Where will we go?"

"Not far. This war limits us from straying too far from Konoha, unless..."

"But I want to prove myself! I can do more than just stupid C level missions!"

"Just what I was proposing. You see," he held a scroll out to Kakashi. "The Fifth has just ordered us out to Hidden Sand to help with defensive measures. Because this is a delicate mission, this is an A-rank. Think you can handle it, Kakashi?"

Kakashi quivered with excitement. "An A-level? Of course I will! Let's go! When are we leaving?"

"In the morning, so rest up, pack up, say goodbye to whoever you want... hm?" Kakashi reddened and hid something from the sack behind his back. "Um... I'll be back later, okay? It'll just take a few minutes, bye!"

Sakumo sighed and rested his chin on his fist. "Where in Konoha is going now...?"


End file.
